Darwin Falls
Darwin Falls is a real treasure. Imagine a long drive through Panamint Valley, one of the driest places on earth, even dryer than Death Valley. The landscape is dotted with tiny little creosote bushes struggling to stay alive. When you reach the end, you head left toward Olancha and Lone Pine. Past the Panamint Springs resort--which I recommend more for its cute atmosphere than its food--is a dirt road to Darwin Falls. The view along the way is dry red soil and rocks, lots of rocks. This road will take you to a trailhead with a decent sized parking area. The trip is doable in a street car to this point, I've even seen a big motor home full of tourists negotiate the somewhat precarious entrance to the parking area.
From here take your daypack and camera and begin the easy walk up to the Falls. A few yards into the trip you find yourself in the unlikely presence of water. It's just a trickle, but soon you will find yourself walking under the shade of trees and brushing through cattails. Towards the end you may have to scramble over a few somewhat slippery rocks, but this is the only challenge to the journey.
Finally, you hear the sound of rushing water and come into a clearing bearing the gorgeous Darwin Falls. They pour over a rock into a clear, inviting pool below. I haven't seen any fish, but one time there was a healthy population of little chirping frogs. It is a true desert oasis, a wondrous throwback to the age when the valleys were lakes.
As a side note, on my first trip to Darwin Falls we missed the trailhead and continued up the dirt road. High clearance is advisable at this point. Up the hill is a cool old mine to check out, with the remains of some rock cabins.
Visit my website for photos.
From here take your daypack and camera and begin the easy walk up to the Falls. A few yards into the trip you find yourself in the unlikely presence of water. It's just a trickle, but soon you will find yourself walking under the shade of trees and brushing through cattails. Towards the end you may have to scramble over a few somewhat slippery rocks, but this is the only challenge to the journey.
Finally, you hear the sound of rushing water and come into a clearing bearing the gorgeous Darwin Falls. They pour over a rock into a clear, inviting pool below. I haven't seen any fish, but one time there was a healthy population of little chirping frogs. It is a true desert oasis, a wondrous throwback to the age when the valleys were lakes.
As a side note, on my first trip to Darwin Falls we missed the trailhead and continued up the dirt road. High clearance is advisable at this point. Up the hill is a cool old mine to check out, with the remains of some rock cabins.
Visit my website for photos.
posted by Tiffany at 6:24 PM
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